Air-ship



(No Model.)

4 G. W. PETERSEN.

AIR SHIP.

No. 256,366. Patented Apr. 11, 1 882.

WI messes: INVENTDH:

N. PETERS. PMoL-Mugnpher, Wamingmn. b.'c.

" UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

CARL W. PETERSEN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

AIR-SHIP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 256,366, dated April11, 1882,

5 Application filed November 11,3881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CARL W". PETERSEN, of thecity and county of San Francisco,.in the State of California, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Air-Ships; and I dohereby declare that the following specification, taken inconnection-with the drawings furnished and forming a part of the same,is a clear, true, and complete description of my invention. 7 i

After a detailed description of the several features of my inventionthey will be separately indicated in the claims hereunto annexed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is an end view ot' an air-shipembodying my invention, and as if the same were proceeding upward andforward. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same proceedingdownward andforward. Fig. 3 is a. longitudinal vertical section of the car or bodyof the ship and its contents. Fig. 4 illustrates the mounting of arudder wholly between the car and a horizontal guiding-sail. Fig. 5illustrates in section the interior of the neck of the lifting vessel orballoon.

The lifting-vessel A may be of any desired form, provided it be capableof being reefed, and thereby made to possess a variable liftingcapacity. The form shown is of the elon gated spheroidal variety, andinstead of being provided with the usual top valve for permitting theescape of the lifting medium it is wholly closed at the apex, andstrongly re-enforced for obtaining a firm connection thereat with areefiug-line, a, which passes centrally downward through the neck of thevessel to a point convenient of access by the navigator. The valueofthis improvement will be obvious when it is considered that with theusual top valve the upward escape of gas is accompanied by an upwardflow of atmospheric air'through the usual open neck below, so that whenthe valve isthereafter closed the chamber contains a mix-- ture of airand gas, and the proportion of air increases more or less at eachopening of the valve. With my improvement, as the reefing' is proceededwith from time to time the gas is forced downward and outward withoutpermitting the entrance of air, and therefore the lifting capacity ofthe balloon can be much longer maintained than when the discharge of gasis accompanied by a practically correspondinginduction of air. Thedownward discharge of gas as a result of reefing also wholly. obviatesthe liability of an upward collapse, common to balloons having the topvalve and open neck.

As illustrated in Fig. 5, the neck of the balloon or gas-vessel isprovided with a rigid diaphragm, of wood 'or other suitable material,through which passes the gas-supply pipe, hereinafter described, and thereefing-linea, the former having a permanent gas-tight joint with saiddiaphragm and the latter a packed joint, which vi ill admit the propermovements of the line and yet afford a reasonably tight joint around it.In said diaphragm there is also an outlet guarded bya spring-valve, a,

which is preferably adjustable, and is opened by the internal pressureof gas when so far increased by the reefin g operation as to render thedischarge of gas desirable. A valve-line may be provided by which saidvalve may be opened for permitting the gas to be discharged more freelyduring the reefing operation whenever desirable. The spring-valve alsoserves ranged to be worked by hand or by a windlass therein. Separatereefing-lines above the horizontal sail may, however, obviously bedispensed with and a requisite number of the suspending lines of thenetting be employed for reefing purposes.

The car'B is preferably constructed in the form of a boat, as shown, notonly because of its utility when a forced descent occurs on water, butalso because it is longer than it is wide, so that by shifting weightsor shifting the positions of the navigators either end may be depressedor elevated when in the air.

Between the car and the gas-vessel or balloon is a circularguiding-sail, C, which is adjustable from a horizontal plane to any deasan automatic safety-valve, which will permit the escape of gas wheneverits tension besired angle. As shown, this sail is fixed with relation tothe car so that it will occupy a corresponding position but it may, asan equivalent arrangement, be suspended from the balloon, and be capableof angular adjustment independently of the car by means of blocks andropes, and in this case rigid bars or rods may be provided at each sideof the boat, to which, at their upper ends, the frame or hoop of theguiding-sail will be pivoted, after the manner of trunnions. Forproperly uniting the balloon with the parts carried by it, the usualnetting should be employed, and the suspending cords may be variouslyarranged with reference to the car and thesail, giving due considerationto security and convenience. A sail, substantially as shown, incombination with a balloon provided with means for reefing it, andthereby reducing its lifting capacity, is novel and of great practicalvalue.

At opposite points fore and aft ofthe guiding sail O, I employ ruddersD, which are adjustable to any requisite angle. These, as shown, arenovel in that they are circular in form, are axially connected to theframe of the guidingsail O, and each is diametrically stiffened andworked by lines or guys 1), extending from the periphery of the rudderat various points through and secured to eyes 0 at opposite ends of thepivoted brace d, which is set parallel with the large sail O, saidlinesbeing extended downward and rearward to the car, so as to be readilyaccessible ,to the navigator. In Fig.4 the rudder D is shown whollybelow the guid ing-sail, and is pivoted between an arm, at, extendingfrom the guiding-sail and an arm, 6?, extending from the boat or car;but it is provided, as before described, with the pivoted brace d andlines or guys I), which firmly brace the rudder and extend to the carfor steering purposes. The guiding-sail C and the rudders D should bemade of strong, light, textile fabric distended by means of hoops andother frame-work of suitably rigid but light material. I prefer, as anovel feature, that the sail and rudders be made up of frame-work andtwo separate thicknesses of gas-tight material, so that said sail andrudders, or either, will constitute a gas vessel or chamber which may beinflated with the lifting medium, light flexible conducting-tubes beingconnected therewith for conveying the gas-supplythereto.

I am aware thatit has heretofore been proposed to so constructgasvessels for balloons that their internal capacity could be diminishedor enlarged for increasing or diminishing the pressure of their contentswith a view to varying their lifting capacity; and I am also aware thatit is not new to employ horizontal or vertical guidingsails withnon-reefable balloons, and I therefore make no claim to either of saidfeatures separately considered.

Although an air-ship embodying some of the features of my invention maybe successfully worked with heated air, I prefer to use the usualhydrogen gases, and in view of my maintaining the gas in my balloonwithout the undue mixing of air therewith, as hereinbefore explained,Iam enabled to easily compensate for the necessary loss of gas, becausesaid loss is comparatively small, and I therefore em ploy an apparatusfor making fixed gas from the lighter varieties of liquid hydrocarbonsuch, for instance, as that generally known as gasoline.

In the car I have one or more air-tight tanks, 0, connected with eachother by a system of pipes provided with suitable cocks, andcommunicating with aretort, f, so that either tank may be relied upon tosupply gasoline to said retort. The retort may be variously constructed;but for ready illustration I have selected the coil form. Each tank isprovided with an air-pump,g; or oneair-pump with a system of pipesconnecting with each tank may be relied upon for attaining suchatmospheric pressure within the tanks as will secure the proper deliveryof gasoline to the retort. Extending from the upper coil of the retortupward into the neck of the gas-vessel is a pipe, h. A bulb, t, isprovided in said pipe just above the retort, and beneath a cock, *5, insaid pipe, from which a gas-burner or heater, k, is supplied with gasfor operating the retort. The entire retort is inclosed within asuitable jacket, the requisite vent-openings being well guarded by finewire-gauze. In working this gas'generating apparatus the cock t" abovebulb'iis closed, a small quantity of gasoline allowed to enter fromeither tank, and a handlamp is placed so thatsome portion of the coilwill be sufliciently heated to gasify the gasoline in the retort,whereupon it passes to the heating-burner k, which is then lighted, andas soon as the retort has been properly heated a proper continuoussupply of gasoline is fed thereto by opening the proper cock, and thecock above the bulb is thereafter opened partially to permit thedischarge of gas upward into the balloon, it being only necessary thatsufficient pressure be maintained in the bulbi to supply theheating-burner. The upper portion of the pipe It being open into theinterior of the gas-vessel enables me to place in said pipe, above thecock 2', a manometer, l, for in dicating the pressure of gas within thegasvessel. Various other arrangements of retort and burner may beemployed.

If mechanical propelling apparatus is desired, it may be operated by agas-engine supplied from the retort instead of from the balloon,ashasheretofore been proposed by others. \Nith a screw-propeller but onerudder would be necessary.

An air-ship constructed and equipped as described is operated asfollows: For the initial ascent the balloon is preferably fully chargedwith street gas, or from some other cheap source of supply. The car isevenly weighted, so that it will be lifted in a horizontal position, andthe rudders are set truly vertical.

In ascending the direction will be vertical, except as modified byprevailing wind, and as soon as the requisite speed in rising isattained the navigator andsuch weights as are needed line drawndownward, which carries witlrit the 7 upper portion or crown of theballoon, forcing more or less gas from the vessel, and as soon as theballoon commences its descent the ad'- vancing'movement is continueddownwardly at a speed more rapid than was before obtaincd during theupward movement. The gasgenerat'ing apparatus, having meantime beenstarted, is worked up to its most efficient pressure, as will beindicated by the character of the flame at the burners, and before thedesired downward tack or course is terminated the fresh gas is admittedto the balloon, and being in a more or less heated condition from theretort it warms the gas already in the balloon, thereby increasing itslifting power, as well as by the fresh supply, whereupon the inclinationof the sail (J is again changed and the reefin g-line slowly slackened,and then the balloon, in ascending, continues advancing in the samegeneral direction as before. The rudders can be set in an obvious mannerfor changing direction to the right hand or the left.

The novel combination of a balloon having a reefing capacity with theguiding-sail is of value, whether they be used in connection with agas-generating apparatus or not, because of the economic discharge ofgas for descending without an undue admission of air. The gasgeneratingapparatus operating on highly-volatile hydrocarbons, the reef-ableballoon and the guiding-sailconstitute, in my judgment, a speciallyvaluable and novel combination of elements. The liquid hydrocarbonserves as ballastin g, which is gradually transformed from ballast to alifting medium,and a sufficient quantity can be carried to furnish gasin volume equal to or greater than the maximum capacity of the balloon.If, however, additional sand-ballast be carried, it may beadvantageously discharged at times for supplementing the ascents andeconomizing in the use of the hydrocarbons.

It will of course be readily seen that the particular forms of thegas-vessel shown, the sail, the rudders, and the car may be widelyvaried, and that the details of construction of the various parts andthe manner of their connection can be obviously changed to an almostindefinite degree without materially departing from my invention; and itis obvious that an air-shipinvolving one or more of the novel featuresof my invention may be made of any desired size, according to thespecial ends in view in each case, and that a lifting medium other thangas of the character described may be employed.

It will be seen that the characteristic feature of my air-ship is itscomplete adaptability to beat or tack in the air, similar to a ship onthe sea, the latter makingits angular courses in a horizontal plane andmy ship making similar courses in a vertical plane. I

Having thus described myinvention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- '1. An air-ship having a gas-vessel, means forreefingsaid vessel, and a guiding-sail whereby the ship may beat or tackregularly inthe air in vertical inclinations, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination ofa reefable balloon and a guiding-sail adjustablefrom a horizontal position to various inclinations, substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination, with a balloon and its car, of a tank or tanks forcontaining volatile liquid and a retort for converting said liquid intogas, substantially as described.

4. An airship-lifting vessel having a vertical circular rudder pivotallyconnected to the frame of the sail, said rudder being provided with abrace and steering-lines extending from the ends of said brace to thecar, substantially as described.

CARL W. PETERSEN.

Witnesses:

AUGUSTUS GERITZEN, HERMANN GERITZEN.

